Battle of Caen

The Battle of Caen (6 June-6 August 1944) was a battle of World War II between the British Commonwealth and Nazi Germany during the Normandy campaign. The Germans devoted most of their reserves (mostly armored units) to defending Caen, so the battle dragged on for two months with much losses and destruction. The old city of Caen was bombed to rubble by Allied bombing and the fighting, and over 50,000 Allied soldiers were casualties in the battle. Although the battle was very costly for the Allies, the United States succeeded in its Operation Cobra breakout from St. Lo in July due to most of Germany's forces being concentrated at Caen. The battle was a decisive Allied victory, and the Germans lost France by the end of August.

Prelude
Following the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, the Allied Powers established beachheads in Normandy and were able to gain a foothold in northern France. However, Nazi Germany deployed several strong forces to hold them off and drive them back into the sea, and the Allies had to break out. The British and Canadian forces would focus on the Norman capital of Caen while the Americans would focus on breaking out of St. Lo. 3 armored divisions and 11 infantry divisions from the British Commonwealth were deployed to capture Caen from the 7 German infantry divisions and 8 panzer divisions. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery led the attack, while Erwin Rommel led the defense of Caen.

Battle
The British and Canadians made their first attempt to take Caen with a direct assault after breaking out of Sword Beach, but they were forced back. With the attack from Sword Beach failing, the Commonwealth forces decided to entrench around Caen and besiege the town. For months, the British launched many attacks on the city in failed attacks against the Germans. On 13 June 1944, the Battle of Villiers-Bocage was costly for the Allies, beginning a period of attritional warfare for the city. Operation Perch, Operation Martlet, Operation Epsom, Operation Windsor, Operation Charnwood, Operation Jupiter, and Operation Goodwood were all launched to seize Caen from the German forces, with the casualties rising on both sides. Germany dispatched almost all of their reserves in France to Caen to fight against the large Commonwealth army, which helped them in their struggle with the Commonwealth but weakened their forces fighting against the United States near St. Lo. In July, Operation Cobra broke out of St. Lo, and the Americans broke out of Normandy and trapped the Germans in the Falaise Pocket. Operation Goodwood's success on 20 July 1944 prevented the German armor from escaping Caen, and the British launched an all-out assault on Caen on 6 August 1944 after weeks of carpet bombing that destroyed much of the old city. The Germans were defeated, and the British were able to resume their breakout from Normandy.